Monday, November 19, 2012

It has been a long time since I devoted a post to my health goals. Overall, I could not be more pleased with how the whole process is going. On the weight front, I'm at a new adult, healthy low of 137.5. I was in a hurry that day so I didn't grab my camera to take a picture. (I weigh myself daily, but I don't photograph it each time.) I'm comfortably fluctuating between 137.5-139.5.

Here is picture from a few days back when I started planning this post.

Exercising is not my thing. It just isn't. I try to remind myself how amazing I feel after my runs, but that doesn't always get my butt out of bed. In an attempt to motivate myself, I decided to start a 10k program (and I turned the a/c warmer in our bedroom at night. It felt like trying to get up on a winter morning in Illinois in there!). Since July, I had been working a 5k plan designed to increase your finish time. It's been pretty much a colossal failure. 7 weeks of faithfully following it, and my times were slow and my nerves were shot. This new 10k plan, which I've only followed for a week, has been steadily increasing my distances. I finished 3.89 miles this morning in 41 minutes. Obviously, that pace (10:32 min) isn't going to break any speed records, but it was a much easier run than my July 5k. (10:19 min) I'm making process. Need to keep reminding myself. In June, when I started, I couldn't run 90 seconds without feeling like I was going to die. There is progress here.

Now, to the eating goals. We've had all kinds of victories and failures in this. By the time we got back from the States this summer, I was ready to go 100% plant based. (That's the new term for eating vegan because vegan means more than diet.) Then, about 3 weeks after school started, Carson got sick. Not super sick, but just off. He didn't have his normal energy level, he complained of general discomfort, and he looked weird. After talking with some friends, I decided that gluten might be the culprit. I have a first cousin with gluten issues (maybe even Celiacs) so I thought we would start there. Within three weeks, he was feeling so much better. Another few weeks after that, and it was clear that gluten was a major part of the issues. Nerves/anxiety/overachieving also played a measurable role in his physical health.

As I started researching all there is to being gluten free, I made the decision- though I didn't like it- that putting Carson on a gluten-free, vegan diet was simply too much. Too much for his psyche to handle. Too much for my budget to cover. He has made some other health goals- no more soda, no more fried foods, no more prok products, no more fast food. And all was not lost on the vegan front because I do believe in the health benefits.

When eating at home, I am completely vegan. No butter, milk, meat, or cheese. (obviously, since I'm allergic to cheese) When I eat out, I'm completely vegetarian. No meat. I made the decision that my Spanish is never going to be good enough to determine every secret ingredient, and it is so important that I avoid cheese. I need to focus my energies there.

Coralynn is the next most vegan member of the family. Tony and the kids will tell you that it's all I can do not to weep when I see that baby ask for more rice and beans or beg for more broccoli. She's a testament to the truth that most people, when hungry, will eat the food presented to them. (Carson is a testament to the truth that some people will starve to death before they eat rice and beans.) We went out to dinner Friday night, and the Bits devoured a plate of pita bread and baba ganoush. Made her Momma proud!

As for the other three, they're a mixed bag of nuts. (I love that expression. Reminds me of my bff in Georgia. Happy mental place.) Tony has almost completely eliminated cheese from his diet. As most vegans will tell you, cheese is often the LAST food people give up. We're thinking there's hope for him! Chloe continues to eat whatever. As long as we eat at home, she'll eat what I serve which is usually highly plant based. And do so happily. At the food court, it's a different story. I'm not sure why a child who is happy to eat healthy at home, when seeing a food court, becomes a McDonalds addict desperately in need of a McBite. So strange.

And then there's Camilla. The sweet child who refuses to eat anything that resembles healthy food- except for strawberries. She is SO pleasant and SO resistant to eating outside her preferences which are fried chicken, bread, apples, strawberries, candy, and cereal. That's about it. She will eat a smoothie, with spinach, as long as the only fruit in it is strawberries. Still working on that child...

Overall, I'm confident we, as a family, are considerably healthier than where we were this time last year. There is no title for our diet, but it is working for us. ﻿

Monday, November 5, 2012

Okay. I'm not a reader by nature. I don't mind reading, but I certainly will find lots of other ways to burn time before I decide to read. I do have a kindle, though, and I enjoy reading on airplanes so I keep my eyes open for book recommendations.

I almost exclusively read Christian autobiographies and biographies. I don't love fiction in any form-To Kill a Mockingbird and Frankenstein the exceptions. Several weeks ago, I was online when I saw a recommendation for a book. I have no idea which website I was on that recommended it, but it captured my attention. And it's secular nonfiction, but I was intrigued by the title.

I ordered the book. In paper form. I love actual books. The kindle is nice because it's hard to get English-language books here and bringing them from the United States is heavy, but I ordered it. It was delivered to my brother, and I got it while I was in Los Angeles.

I finally finished it. I. Loved. It. And, I had to recommend it to you.

As a bit of a disclaimer, it has some bad words in it, and it dapples into evolutionary processes if that is objectionable to you, but neither of those cause any difficulty in reading the book.

Born to Run is about a casual runner's journey to ultradistance running and a tribe in Mexico.

The book is just so good. It made me want to go for a run which I hadn't done in weeks and finally did just a few hours ago.

So, anyway, I'm not getting any kickback. There's no ad money here. I just loved the book, and I wanted to recommend it to you.

Now, not only do I want to run more, I want to read more. What book recommendations do you have?